After a couple of chilly nights and cool days warmer air rolls into the state with high temperatures into the fifties on Wednesday and in the low-sixties on Thursday and Friday. There is no precipitation in the forecast for the next five days across southern Wisconsin. The chilly weather to start this week combined with the flurries and snow showers in all of Wisconsin on Monday has brought a lot of inquiries about the coming winter outlook. My wife and her friend Deb Donaldson were walking around the quarry in Brookfield on Monday and finally found a wooly bear caterpillar for me, as I have struggled to locate one this autumn. The brown stripe was not wide, which in some folklore traditions means that winter will be a bit harsh. Another tradition passed down by the Menominee Indian tribe states that the earlier you see the caterpillar, the harsher the coming winter season. Since this one was late and hard to find, that tradition believes it will be a mild winter. The early official winter outlook from the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather service is indicating warmer than average temperatures for Wisconsin during the months of December through February. There is no definite outlook on snowfall or precipitation at this time with equal chances for above and below average precipitation noted.